Chizuk Emunah Under The Microscope: Chapter 29

    “Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the LORD. For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the LORD: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.”
(Jeremiah 31:31-34)

Much of my response to Rabbinical objections has already been stated in a previous post.

In this passage, Jeremiah is declaring that after the horrible destruction that awaits Israel, God will one day make a new covenant with both the surviving house of Judah and the dispersed house of Israel. Will it be a mere renewal of the old covenant? Not at all! The new covenant will be not like the previous covenant.

What is fascinating is that Troki accepts this interpretation. He states that the new covenant would not be a mere renewal of the Mosaic covenant, but a whole new covenant which is different than the one established on Sinai. However, he denies that God will give a new law, but will instead write his law on the hearts of the people. He argues that due to the perpetuity of the Mosaic Law, God will not write a new law on the hearts of the people.

This is true. There would be a new covenant, but no indication that some new law (תּוֹרָה) would be given. The New Testament does not talk of a new Law, but of a new covenant. This is prominent in Hebrews 8. Catholic Bible has a list of different covenants. The Mosaic covenant certainly was not the only one.

I have also heard the rabbis declare repeatedly that Torah (תּוֹרָה) does not literally mean "law" but "instruction." Well, we can run with that as well. Through regeneration in Jesus, we have the Holy Spirit indwelling in us, so that God's instruction is written on our hearts. Furthermore, it is not only the people of Israel who know of Yahweh. Most people throughout the world have heard of the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

Jeremiah's prophecy does not state that in the instant the new covenant is made, everyone will know of Yahweh, and misssions will be unnecessary. Instead, the prophecy is being fulfilled by the church to this day.